Lockley, Fred.  "History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the
Sea." Vol. 2.  S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1928.  p. 477.
 
LEON W. CURTISS

     Of sturdy pioneer stock, Leon W. Curtiss was one of the first white
children born in Klickitat county and enjoys the distinction of being its oldest
living native son. A typical westerner, he is liberally endowed with the
qualities of energy and determination and these traits, combined with keen
powers of discernment, placed him with the leading ranchers and cattlemen of the
Columbia River valley. He is now devoting his attention to public affairs,
acting as postmaster of Grand Dalles, and has served his state in the capacity
of legislator. His birth occurred March 4, 1860, in Rockland, Klickitat county.
     His parents were Alonzo H. and Elizabeth A. (Gould) Curtiss, the former
born in 1831 and the latter in 1834. When a boy his father was bound out to a
carpenter and received a thorough course of training. In 1852, when a young man
of twenty-one, he started for the west by the southern route as a passenger on
the overland stage, which took him to El Paso, Texas, next through Arizona and
thence to California, being six weeks on the trip to this point. At San
Francisco he secured passage on a boat bound for Portland, Oregon. He later
proceeded up the Columbia river to The Dalles, obtaining work at his trade, and
in 1854 aided in building Fort Dalles. After this task was completed he hewed
the timbers for a hotel, which he called the What Cheer House, and was its
proprietor until 1857. He then leased the hostelry to William Aldridge and went
by stage to Illinois, where he was married. In 1858 he brought his family to the
territory of Oregon, crossing the Isthmus of Panama, and located at The Dalles.
For a year thereafter he conducted the What Cheer House, selling that well known
pioneer hotel in 1859, and crossed the river. He purchased a homestead right to
one hundred and sixty acres of land in what is now Klickitat county, Washington,
and began raising cattle. Mr. Curtiss cleared and improved the tract and
afterward increased his acreage. During the severe winter of 1861-62 his cattle
died of starvation and many of the settlers left the district but he had a wife
and two small children to support and could not afford to make a change of
location. The family managed to live through the winter, which was the hardest
ever experienced in that section of the country, and gradually Mr. Curtiss
retrieved his losses, increasing his herds of cattle and purchasing more land.
He continued to prosper and at the time of his retirement owned a tract of more
than seven thousand acres in Klickitat county in partnership with his son, Leon
W.  While engaged in agricultural pursuits Alonzo H. Curtiss was elected county
commissioner of Klickitat county and served on the board for several years. In
1910, having disposed of his interests in Klickitat county, he returned to The
Dalles, purchasing a good home, in which he resided until his demise in 1913,
and three years later his wife was called to her final rest. They had four
children: Mrs. James Snipes, whose husband is a member of one of the pioneer
families of Oregon and a prominent citizen of The Dalles; Leon W.; Orlando, who
lived but two years; and Joseph S., who died in 1890.
     Leon W. Curtiss was a pupil in the rural schools of his native county and
spent a year at the University of Oregon but preferred the open range to student
life. For many years he was associated with his father in the cattle business
and in 1910 purchased the house which the latter had erected in 1887 at Grand
Dalles, across the river from The Dalles. The building is large and substantial
and was used as a hotel in the early days when the townsite was laid out. A few
years ago Leon W. Curtiss purchased a ranch of twelve hundred acres, situated on
Ten-Mile creek, five miles southeast of The Dalles. A portion of this is rich
bottom land and well irrigated. It is devoted to the raising of strawberries,
vegetables of various kinds, alfalfa, hay and grain. Mr. Curtiss leases the
farm, which is improved with good buildings and fences, while the equipment is
thoroughly modern.
     At Centerville, Washington, Mr. Curtiss was married in 1888 to Miss
Georgiana Fenton, a native of Amity, Oregon, and a daughter of Hugh and
Henrietta Fenton.  The father came to Oregon in the '50s, crossing the plains
with ox teams and wagons, and located near Amity, Yamhill county. In 1858 he
went to the Caribou mines in British Columbia, Canada, in search of gold and on
his return to Oregon settled down to farming. Later he sold the ranch and moved
to Klickitat county. After several years he established his home in Portland,
where he spent the remainder of his life, while his wife's demise also occurred
in that city. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton became the parents of nine children, of whom
Hugh, the eldest, and John, the fourth in order of birth, are deceased. The
others are Georgiana, Eva, Isabel, Mary Frances, Laura, Gertrude and Luther. Mr.
and Mrs. Curtiss have three children. The son, Grover Cleveland, was born on the
old homestead and responded to the call of his country, enlisting in the One
Hundred and Fifty-eighth Regiment of Arizona Infantry. He was overseas for
eighteen months and is now engaged in farming in Gilliam county, Oregon. His
sister, Mrs. Josepha Fulton, resides at Grand Dalles, and is the mother of two
children, Gard Jr. and Robert Curtiss Fulton. Verne, the younger daughter,  was
graduated with honors from the University of Washington and majored in English
history. She received the Bachelor of Arts degree from that institution and
is now engaged in teaching at Camas, Washington, During the World war she
volunteered for service and was sent to Camp Lewis, Washington, where she was
stationed
for over a year.
     Mr. Curtiss exerts a strong influence in the local ranks of the republican
party and for a period of thirteen years has been postmaster of Grand Dalles. In
1895 he became a member of the Washington legislature, in which he represented
Klickitat county for two terms, and carefully studied each question brought
before the house, working at all times for the best interests of his district
and state. He is well read and an excellent raconteur. A man of strong
convictions and great depth of character. Mr. Curtiss has never swerved from the
path of rectitude and honor, and a genial, kindly nature has drawn to him a wide
circle of stanch friends.

 
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in April 2009 by Diana Smith. Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.